Page 451 of Kingdoms of Night

“Our home welcomes all,” she whispered.

And it had, once upon a time. Now it was nothing more than a ruin to give them safety for a single night before they had to run again. Just in case.

Aster set her pack down with a heavy sigh and the sound echoed through the entire Great Hall with a loud bang. When Tanis whirled to glare at her, the she elf had the audacity to shrug her shoulders and ask, “What?”

“Does this not feel like a holy place to you?”

“No, it feels like a ruin that we’re going to stay in it for a little while before we get out of here.” Aster rolled her shoulders back, wincing as she pulled her neck to the side. “I’ll go get us food. I think I saw some rabbit burrows on the way here that will do nicely.”

Rowan immediately turned to his sister. “I should hunt those. You know I’m a better trapper.”

“Yes, but you aren’t likely to leave your dragon any time soon.” Aster blew a kiss at her brother, and then nodded to Tanis. “Stay safe, you two. I’ll bring home dinner so we can all sleep with full bellies for once.”

Or they would, at least. Tanis had yet to tell them that she needed much more food than a couple of rabbits or roots found in the ground. But dragons could go a very long time without eating. Once they found a place where she could safely change back into herself, she would make sure that she hunted a deer.

“Just be careful,” Rowan said, stretching his arms over his head as Aster left the castle and closed the door behind herself.

As he stretched, his shirt rode up over his hips and revealed a strip of skin just above the low line of his pants. She’d never noticed how pretty the muscles of his body were. Tanis rarely thought of anyone for any reason other than their use. Could he reach through the crystals and take some work off her list? Absolutely. Was he a competent man who had led conversations with her? He was.

Maybe she was exhausted. That was the only reason for her to look at his form in any way other than utilitarian. And yet, she still couldn’t stop herself from staring until he lowered his arms.

“What?” he asked, his voice carrying through the hall. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you want to take a bite out of me.”

Had he... Did he recognize how much she was attracted to him? That she needed to fan her face because her cheeks had gone red hot?

Then she realized he was looking at her with hesitation in his eyes and a sudden fear she didn’t recognize. Did he think she actually wanted to bite him? As in, take a large chunk out of his body because she was... hungry?

Oh no. She hadn’t expected this.

“I don’t want to eat you, Rowan,” she grumbled, turning her back to him. “Just because I’m a dragon doesn’t mean I want to eat everything in sight.”

It seemed to take him a while to figure out what he wanted to say to that. But eventually, Rowan sighed. “I’m sorry, Tanis. I know... I know you aren’t like that and I shouldn’t have said such a thing. It’s just hard to imagine any other reason you might look at me like that.”

“Is it?” she asked. The words flew out of her mouth before she could think about how they sounded. But then she realized that’s exactly what she wanted to ask him.

They’d spent a few months together at this point. She knew him as well as the other dragons, and she knew that their friendship had sparked in a time when that seemed impossible. He had stood by her through the hardest part of her life, and he had dove into memories that no elf had ever seen.

Rowan was a remarkable man, and it made her obsessive. She couldn’t think about him leaving her side, or dragon forbid serve another. Just the thought made her go absolutely feral.

“What are you trying to say?” The sound of a footstep coming closer echoed, then paused as he froze again. “Tanis, what do you mean by that?”

“What do you think I mean?” The words ripped out of her. Too harsh. Too sharp. “It was only natural that something like this might happen. We’ve been together for so long now, and you are... well. You. And I am me and this whole thing is confusing.”

He took another step closer to her. “Tanis.”

“I don’t want to explain myself to you, Rowan. I know how unusual it must seem and that the timing of this looks rather poorly on me. We’re in a damned ruin, and after everything we’ve been through, this is the last place my mind should be.”

That guilt wore upon her. She shouldn’t even be capable of looking at him like this when she damn well knew what had happened to her people only a few weeks ago. Traveling across the land hadn’t changed what they had seen happen. It didn’t change that she’d felt so many of her kind die.

His breath fanned against the back of her neck. He was so close she could hear his heartbeat.

“You don’t have to be afraid of wanting to live after seeing so much death,” he murmured. Every movement he made was so slow, and she knew that was partially because he didn’t want to frighten her. He gave her all the time she needed to move away from him, but she didn’t.

Tanis swallowed hard and then tilted her head to the side. As though she had beckoned him to do so, he moved the hair away from her skin. She wondered if the length looked like a swan to him, or if he had such silly romantic thoughts.

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